Artificial tree bark



July 11, 1939. P. J. FRITSCH' ARTIFICIAL TREE BARK Filed Aug. 5, 1938 /NVENTOR PETER J. FE/TJ'CH flTToz/vE s F/QZ I Patented July 11, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 5 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in artificial bark and more particularly to such a material which may be made in sheet form to facilitate storage.

An object of the present invention is to provide an artificial bark made from paper and cloth in such a manner that a very natural and life-like artificial bark may be produced at small expense, whereby it will find a ready market.

A further object is to provide an artificial bark comprising a base member, preferably of kraft paper, having a suitable filler material such as sheet paper, or old newspapers, secured to one side thereof and worked into a series of closely spaced wrinkles or folds, while wet with glue, and a suitable cloth material being applied over said filler material and secured thereto by a suitable glue, said outer finishing material being worked into a plurality of wrinkles or folds while the glue is wet, which wrinkles and folds simulate the grain of bark.

Other objects of the invention reside in the simple and inexpensive manner in which the material may be made and whereby when finished, it will have the appearance of natural bark; in the construction of the material in sheet form which has sufficient stiffness whereby it may be formed into a cylinder to simulate the trunk of a trees without the use of an inner supporting member; and in the provision of an artificial tree bark wherein the grains on the outer surface thereof are irregular and unsymmetrical, whereby the article, when set up, provides a very natural looking bark.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description and accompanying drawing and will be pointed out in the annexed claims.

In the accompanying drawing, there has been disclosed a structure designed to carry out the various objects of the invention, but it is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the exact features shown as various changes may be made within the scope of the claims which follow.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view showing the bark formed into a cylinder and placed on one end to simulate the lower portion of a tree trunk;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the material showing the method of applying the filler material and outer finishing material to the surface of the base member; and

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

The artificial bark herein disclosed is shown comprising a suitable base member 2, preferably of kraft paper, to one surface of which a suitable filler material, such as sheet paper, is applied. To. apply the filler material, generally indicated by the numeral 3, to the surface of the base member 2, the latter has its surface coated with a suitable glue and the filler material in sheet form is then placed on the glued surface of the base member and worked into a plurality of transverse folds or wrinkles in such a manner that said folds are irregular and unsymmetrical. I have found that the filler material may readily and conveniently be worked into a plurality of suitable wrinkles or folds with the finger tips. After the filler paper has been applied to the surface of the base member and has been worked into a plurality of wrinkles, the glue is allowed to dry,

A suitable outer finishing material, generally indicated by the numeral 4, is then soaked in a glue or paste, and while wet, is laid over the surface of the dried filler paper, as will be understood by reference of Figures 2 and 3. I have found cambric cloth to provide a very good and inexpensive material for this purpose. The glue soaked cloth is then worked into a plurality of wrinkles or folds which preferably are irregular and unsymmetrical in form, in order to more closely simulate thegrain of natural bark. After the cambric cloth has been applied over the surface of the filler paper and worked into shape, the glue is allowed to thoroughly dry and. the outer surface .of the cloth is then suitably colored and treated with a water proof material such, for example, as paint.

When the artificial bark in sheet form, has been thoroughly dried, it may readily be rolled into rolls for storage or it may be stored in sheet form by stacking the sheets one upon the other.

I have found, from actual experience, that by applying the glue soaked cloth over the surface of the filler paper and working it into grains to simulate tree bark, a very natural and life-like appearing bark may be produced. By wrinkling the cloth with the fingers, the wrinkles and folds produced therein will be irregular and unsymmetrical, whereby the artificial bark will have a more natural appearance.

By constructing the bark as disclosed in Figures 2 and 3, when the glue has thoroughly dried, the sheet will have sufficient stiffness, whereby it may be rolled into a cylindrical form to simulate a tree trunk, as clearly illustrated in Figure 1. Suitable knots 5 and 6 may readily be formed by simply working the filler paper into different forms, as best shown at 8 in Figure 3. When the cloth is applied over the filler paper, the portions thereof overlying the raised portion 8 will be depressed, as shown at I in Figure 3, whereby a depression may be formed in the surface of the material which will have substantially the same appearance as a knot. When the material is to be set up, as shown in Figure 1, the lower end of the sheet material may be slitted as indicated by the dotted lines 9, and suitable gussets or filler members I0 inserted therein to provide the outwardly flared bottom portions of the tree trunk, as clearly illustrated in Figure 1. It will thus be seen that the sheet material may be rolled into a cylinder to simulate a tree trunk, and, if the material is not Wide enough to provide the desired height of the tree trunk or tree stump,

another cylinder may be suitably imposed upon the first one, thereby to extend the tree trunk upwardly to the desired height.

The artificial bark herein disclosed, is very simple and inexpensive in construction, in that old newspapers may be used as a filler between the base member 2 and outer surfacing cloth 4. Obviously, other materials than newspapers may be applied to the surface of the base member to provide the roughened surface for receiving the outer finishing cloth member 4.

In Figure 1 of the drawing, I have shown the representation of a tree in which the grain of the bark runs in a direction lengthwise of the tree trunk, or vertically, as in an oak tree. It is to be understood, however, that the filler material 3 and outer surfacing cloth 4 may be worked into other shapes as, for example, the wrinkles or folds may be disposed horizontally, and they may be made relatively smaller so as to simulate the grain of birch bark, or any other desired tree bark.

I claim as my invention:

1. A method of forming artificial tree'bark which consists in coating a surface of a suitable base member with glue and applying a suitable filler to the glue-covered surface of said member, allowing the glue to dry, and then applying a glue soaked cloth over the filler and working it into a series of folds or wrinkles to simulate bark.

2. A method of forming an artificial tree bark which consists in applying a coating of glue or paste to the surface of a suitable base member, applying a filler paper to the glue-covered surface of said member and working the filler paper into a series of folds or wrinkles, allowing the glue to dry, and subsequently applying a glue soaked fabric over the filler paper and working it into a series of folds and wrinkles which simulate the grain of tree bark, and finally applying a suitable moisture-proof coating to thefabric as a preservative against moisture.

3. A method of forming an artificial tree bark which consists in applying a coating of glue or paste to the surface of a suitable base member, applying a dry filler paper to the glue-covered surface of said member and Working the filler paper into a series of substantially parallel folds or wrinkles, allowing the glue to dry to secure the filler paper to said member, then covering said filler paper with a suitable cloth material and forming in said cloth, a series of folds and wrinkles which simulate the grain of tree bark, applying a suitable protective coating to the cloth and finally applying a coloring material to the coated surface of the cloth to render the article more life-like in appearance.

4. An artificial tree bark comprising a substantially flat base member, a suitable filler material secured to one side of said base member in the form of a plurality of closely spaced wrinkles or folds, and a sheet of glue soaked cloth applied over the filler material and worked into a plurality of folds and Wrinkles which simulate the bark of a tree.

5. An artificial tree bark comprising a substantially flat base member of kraft paper, a suitable filler material, such as old newspapers, glued to one side of said base member and Worked into a plurality 'of closely spaced irregular wrinkles or folds before the glue has set, a sheet of glue soaked cloth overlying the filler material, said glue-soaked cloth being worked into a plurality of irregular folds and wrinkles which simulate the bark of a tree, and a protective coating applied to the outer surface of said cloth to render it substantially moisture-proof.

PETER J. FRITSCH. 

